Last week, this newspaper featured a number of local teachers of the year from Jackson County. But what makes these men and women special? How are they able to rise above their peers to be recognized for their teaching ability?

That question was at the heart of a fascinating article in this month’s Atlantic magazine. The article examined data from Teach for America, a nonprofit program that recruits college graduates to teach for two years at low-income schools. For over 20 years, the program has collected data on its teachers and has evaluated what makes a great teacher from a mediocre one.

Among the key findings:

--Perseverance: Great teachers have a history of overcoming challenges in their own lives and of providing strong leadership to others. “Gritty” people tend to stick with their goals longer and work harder, according to the article.

--Past performance: People who make great teachers tend to have a history of measurable past performance in college, both in their grades and in leadership achievements in extracurricular activities. The past is the most accurate predictor of the future.

--Life satisfaction: People who are mostly satisfied with their own lives tend to be better teachers than their peers.

So how do great teachers perform this in the classroom? The article suggests the following:

--Great teachers set big goals for students.

--Great teachers constantly re-evaluate what they are doing, what works and doesn’t work, and adapt and change their methods.
--Great teachers recruit both students and parents into the program.

--Great teachers maintain their focus on student learning.

--Great teachers plan, plan, plan.

--Great teachers refuse to bend to the negatives of poverty, bureaucracy and budget cuts.

According to the Atlantic article, the best teachers are not necessarily those with the most degrees, or the most bubbly personality, or even with the longest tenure. The best teachers are those who are determined to succeed in spite of obstacles in their path.

Every teacher and administrator should get a copy of this article and see in more detail what makes great teachers.

Wow, great comments! If you are a parent reading this, ask yourself this question. When was the last time you talked to or emailed your kids teacher? If it was longer than a month....step up and get involved!!!

PARENTS DON'T GET BUT 15 MINUTES A QUARTER, FOR PARENTS-TEACHERS MEETINGS. IF YOU GO TO THE SCHOOL TO TALK, OR CALL TO TALK TO YOUR CHILDS TEACHER, THEY ARE BUSY. QUIT BLAMING A PARENT,OR CHILD. IT'S A JOB, OF A TEACHER. AND YOU KNOW THEY FAIL.

Therefore, Melanie, what you are telling me is that you believe that it is the teacher’s job to ensure that your child succeeds in school, not yours. It that correct? If so, that is a poor view of the importance of a triad of learning to succeed in education. The reason why our school systems are failing is that it takes an attentive students, involved parents, and equipped teachers to make education work. Students are not engaged to learn without the support and drive from the parents and the teachers cannot force the students to learn. Teachers are underpaid and schools are underfunded to teach subjects at the level required today. Students are learning subjects years earlier than what students did 20-30 years ago and the tools necessary to equip the teachers are expensive. Yes, there are bad teachers out there but there are also many more good ones. I have email contact with my child’s teacher every week and she cares enough to take a few minutes out of her day to tell me how my child is doing.

I think you really all need to examine. You have no clue as to what kids need. The teachers job is not to raise the kids. That is the parents job. If you cannot support your childs teacher in those efforts then why dont you man up and be responsible. You were not concerened when you had the child, but show some concern now!!

I really love it when my e-mails to my child's teacher get returned to me with the status of: "Never Opened/Viewed-Recipient Deleted." IOW, she doesn't even bother to open her e-mails. Good thing I saved all this info from when she taught 2nd grade & is now at the middle school(CMS)doing the same thing. ...Gotta love that! It just makes me smile every time!

What makes a great teacher? For those of us that grew up in Jefferson in the fifties-sixties and seventies the answer is clear. Frances & Annie Roberts, Ms Irene Rankin, Ms. Frances Smith and others. These teachers taught you the things you needed to know. How sad this is. God Bless these pioneers and shame on our educational system now!

This teacher debate is really a sensative issue to many people. Citizens accuse, teachers defend, teachers accuse and parents defend. The fact is we are complaining about the seat when it is the whole car that is faulty.
Education is different in every classroom in America at any given moment. The vehicle by which controls the overall mechanism is the teacher. No one argues that point. A good one creates an environment whereas an interested, well parented learner.....can learn. A bad one does not. I got news for you parents however. It works for you too.
Blaming one another for the overall failure of our fat, dumb and lazy kids being 47th in the nation, is counterproductive. The system as a whole is failing every citizen in this country. The people who sit back and decide the cirriculum, the book makers, the politicians and many other influences break down the potential for good education.
Example;
We were taught in school that Edison was responsible for the light in our rooms, WRONG! It was Nicola Tesla, Edison was off on Direct Current, you know like your headlights in your car. 12V. Tesla mastered Alternating Current, while working for Edison in fact. Edison never even paid the man what they had agreed. Hmmm. How many of you knew that? Well, those that did had good teachers, those that didn't had cirriculum readers from books printed by McMillan and other follow alongs who printed what was told them by whoever wanted our children believing certain "facts."
A good teacher is obvious. They never have to advertise. A bad one is usually the one found making excuse after excuse and blaming parents or whoever he/she can point at.

I think someone missed the point. Parents don't get paid. Teachers get paid for a job of teaching. And if they don't like the job, please go find another one that you like. No one is perfect. Maybe if teachers would quit putting theirselves before parents, and understand no matter what a parent always has the first say, when it comes to their child, yes an even before the county employee, (teacher). Just a job, that you are not doing very well.

Not putting nothing on the teacher. Teacher's get paid for a job. Most parent's stand first and last when it comes to their child. It just looks like teachers have got failing grade for their job and then all they know to do is blame the parents. People are just tired of throwing money at the educatiion system, every time someone says so. I hate to say it, but it hope the whole system falls apart. Then maybe it can start over for the children needs, and not the whinning teachers. That can't teach.

Well, it looks to me that the ones that are blaming the teachers need to go back to school themselves and learn correct english and how to spell.
It is not the teachers that are failing people. It is the parents that think they know every thing and teach such slop to their children and it then goes to the class rooms where the children say they don't have to pay attention and do their work. Well, parents if you don't like the way your child is being taught proper manners and to respect on top of what they have to learn in class to succed in life then take them out of school and teach them yourself.Teachers get paid pennies comparied to the students that they teach. The students become doctors and lawyers and get even more money than the ones that taught them then the first time something goes wrong it is the teachers fault.Parents stand up and take the blame and bring back the respect, manners and dignity back to the real world. Teachers are sick and tired of taking the pay cuts and the bad name calling because no one wants to take responsability for their own or their child's action. Grow up people and remember if it weren't for teachers we would all be stupid.
You wouldn't know how to operate a computer or the internet.

(*START QUOTE*)"Well, it looks to me that the ones that are blaming the teachers need to go back to school themselves and learn correct english and how to spell." (*END QUOTE*)Below, you will find your words first and then mine followed by the 3 periods or 'dots'.

"and learn correct english"..."english" is a proper noun and therefore should always be capitalized; it should be written as "English".
"It is the parents that think they know every thing"..."Everything" is one word.
"and it then goes to the class rooms"..."Classrooms" is one word as well.
"to succed in life"..."succed" should be spelled "succeed" and a 'period' should be placedd after "life".
"teach them yourself"...Should be "yourselves" as you started the sentence in plural.
"Teachers get paid pennies comparied to the students that they teach..."comparied" should be spelled "compared" and this sentence does not quite make sense to me? Do students earn a paycheck now?
"The students become doctors and lawyers and get even more money than the ones that taught them then the first time"...There should be a comma after "then".
"Parents stand up and take the blame and bring back the respect, manners and dignity back to the real world."...Should be written as "Parents", comma, stand up, or could have been better worded such as "I ask of you all as parents, please stand up", etc. Also, the word "back" is used twice in the same short sentence.
"and the bad name calling because no one wants to take responsability for their own or their child's action"..."bad names" should be written as "bad-names" & "responsability" is spelled "responsibility" & "action" should be plural, "actions".

You knew the salary of a teacher when you hopped aboard that ship; it's never too late to make changes in your life, especially if you are envious of the amount of money your very own students grow to earn. ...No room for complaining in my opinion...just change or don't complain about it.

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